Comcast Ventures Invests in Smart Home Innovator August Home

Over the last two years, the fervor for all things connected home has reached new heights. Comcast Ventures has watched intently as many of Silicon Valley’s best entrepreneurs have entered the fray with a dizzying array of innovative devices and services. August Home, the maker of an exquisite connected door lock, is one such example, and earlier this week, Comcast Ventures joined Bessemer Venture Partners and numerous other investors in August’s $38M round of funding.

You may ask yourself, why locks? Globally, over 250M locks are sold annually and the big 3 lock makers, Yale (Assa Abloy), Schlage (Allegion), and Kwikset (Spectrum), generate multi-billions in revenues every year. We believe the smart lock is the next segment to take off in the connected home landscape, after the thermostat, the security camera, and the light bulb. It’s why we’ve been looking for a team to get behind.

Cofounder and CEO, Jason Johnson, started August with famed designer, Yves Behar, over two years ago to help consumers rethink the front door and view their smart lock as the entry point to the smart home. As a self-installed mechanical overlay to the traditional dead bolt lock, August is paired with a mobile app that reimagines your home’s access control more conveniently than traditional physical keys.

We first met Jason a year ago and followed his progress as he brought his prototypes to fruition and built one of the most talented management teams in the connected home landscape. In Q3 2014, August launched its product with tremendous fanfare and that momentum has only continued in 2015.

"We’re excited to have the backing of Michael and Gavin and the rest of the Comcast Ventures team as they have great insights in the connected home market, and they have helped us engage with leaders in the broader home security and home automation market like Comcast's Xfinity Home," said Jason Johnson, August CEO.

To that end, expect exciting things from August on the product and partnership front in 2015. The vision of the smart home is becoming clearer, starting with innovators like August at our front door.